Take that Kindle Fire HD! We new that Barnes and Noble would have products to counter their arch-nemesis, and they're finally let them out of the bag. Good to see competition in the tablet-ereader hybrid space.

The Nook HD is a 7" tablet with an impressive 1440 x 900 pixel display that runs on a dual core 1.3GHz TI OMAP 4470 CPU. At 11..1 ounces and 5" wide, it's narrower and lighter than the Kindle Fire HD. The tablet will sell for $199 for the 8 gig model and $229 for the 16 gig model (a wee bit pricer than the Kindle Fire HD 16 gig).

It comes in snow or smoke colors and will be available at the beginning of November in Barnes & Noble Stores. You can preorder earlier if you like, and given the company's past difficulties having new Nook models in store, preorder might be a better bet if you've just got to have one.

The Nook HD+ is the 9" competitor to the Kindle Fire HD 8.9. Like that Kindle, it has full HD display, and it runs at 1920 x 1280. It too will be available in early November in store and will sell for $269 for the 16 gig and $299 for the 32 gig. It weighs just over a pound (18.2 ounces) and is quite slim. The Nook HD+ is powered by a 1.5GHz dual core CPU.